Q We recently bought our house from a lady who had sadly lost mental capacity. There were no title deeds. The land was unregistered, so we had it registered at the Land Registry in our names. There is another unregistered piece of land that we believe also belongs to us. How do we reclaim it?
A The most obvious way to establish ownership is by adverse possession (or “squatters’ rights”). Adverse possession operates through a combination of two principles of law. First, if someone is in physical occupation of land they have the right to stop anyone coming on to the land, except those with a better legal title. This right, known as having possessory title, is obviously quite precarious because the legal owner of the land can always choose to evict the squatter, or bring court proceedings for possession.
Second, the Limitation Act 1980 prevents people from bringing civil proceedings that have become stale. In the case of eviction proceedings, the limitation period under section 15(1) of the 1980 Act is 12 years. So, once someone has had uninterrupted possession for 12 years, even the legal owner of the land cannot claim back possession and the squatter becomes the new legal owner.
The rules for adverse possession were amended by the Land Registration Act 2002 to make it more difficult for squatters to acquire title, but the changes do not apply to unregistered land or land where the squatter had not already acquired title by 12 years of possession before October 2003.
An application for registration should be made on the Land Registry AP1 form, along with statements of truth or statutory declarations provided by neighbours or other witnesses, hopefully showing that you have had exclusive possession for the requisite 12 years. If you cannot get this evidence, you can still establish title by enclosing and occupying the land.
Mark Loveday is a barrister with Tanfield Chambers. Email your question to: brief.encounter@thetimes.co.uk
